NOBODY turned up for the cremation of a much-loved father of two after council workers failed to tell his family the date.

Tragic Alan Fitzpatrick’s former partner Patricia McFadyen was devastated when she rang up the undertakers to check when the 51-year-old’s funeral was taking place – only to be told they were minutes away from scattering his ashes.

Patricia, 51, the mother of Alan’s 18-year-old son Jamie Fitzpatrick, raced down to the funeral home to grab her late partner’s remains before it was too late to say goodbye.

She said: “I was so angry and upset. Alan had no family there – he was all alone.

“Me and our son were devastated. We wanted to say goodbye and lay him to rest.

“How can you forget to tell a family a funeral date?”

Alan, who had another son, Simon White, 19, from a previous relationship, killed himself on August 29 – but Patricia did not find out until September 1.

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The unemployed former milkman had suffered from depression for years but he kept in close contact with his children and went to Patricia’s home in Stevenston, Ayrshire, every Wednesday for tea and so she could do his laundry.

His death was unexpected and he left no notes or indications of what he was going to do.

With no money to pay for a burial, Patricia applied to North Ayrshire Council for an environmental health funeral.

They commissioned Co-operative Funeralcare in nearby Kilwinning to cremate Alan at Holmsford Bridge Crematorium in Dreghorn.

The council told Patricia the Co-op would notify her of the funeral date.

But when she rang back days later, she was told the cremation had already taken place and she had missed it.

Unemployed Patricia claims the council told her they’d tried to call and had left a message.

But she insists she never had any missed calls or a voicemail.

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The angry mum of four said: “I never got any missed calls, I never got anything from them.

“I made a complaint and even had to fight to get his ashes back as they were just going to scatter them as no one attended.

“Thankfully I got them before it was too late.

“My son couldn’t even be there to say goodbye to his dad.

“I saw Alan every week and we had a good relationship.

“Now we will have to have a private little send-off.”

Patricia says the first indication that anything was amiss came on August 29 when she received a phone call saying police had been at Alan’s home.

The mum, who has three children from another relationship, drove round but got no answer at his door.

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Sadly, two days later she got a call from a friend confirming her worst fears – that Alan had committed suicide.

Patricia couldn’t pay for a funeral so she commissioned an environmental funeral.

Funded by the council and assisted by the Co-op, it provides a cremation and a chance for family to say goodbye.

She was told she would be notified of the date and it would be in about a week’s time.

But after not hearing anything by September 17, she rang only to be told the funeral had taken place two days before and they had missed it.

Patricia instantly complained and managed to get Alan’s ashes before they were scattered.

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She said: “It’s not like messing up an order or a purchase. You can’t cremate someone twice.

“We are already beside ourselves with grief and saying goodbye is a right everyone should have.

“There was no voicemail and even if they had left one, they should have persisted until they got through.

“What on Earth were they thinking?

“We had no time to say goodbye and nearly lost his ashes as well.

“Any loss is horrendous to go through but usually you have that glimpse of a goodbye and now I feel it was taken away from us.

“Alan was a free spirit so we are scattering the ashes slowly around the places he loved, but it’s hardly the same.

“I’m at my wits’ end – it’s too hard to comprehend.

“To think in this day and age that somebody who had family and friends didn’t have anyone at his funeral is horrendous.”

(Image: SWNS Group)

Yesterday, Co-operative Funeralcare explained that they were not obliged to contact Alan’s relatives.

A spokesperson said: “We were commissioned by North Ayrshire Council to carry out the Funeral of the late Alan Fitzpatrick, which took place at Holmsford Bridge Crematorium at 9am on the September 15.

“This was a local authority funded funeral, and as such we received our instruction directly from North Ayrshire Council and had no communication with anyone else.

“We carried out the funeral as per the instructions provided to us and we did not receive any requests to share the funeral details with any individuals.

“We were also instructed to have the ashes dispersed in the Garden of Remembrance and we passed this instr uction to the crematorium.”

A North Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: "North Ayrshire Council would like to express their condolences on the death of Mr Fitzpatrick.

"We can confirm that he received a dignified cremation service and the ashes have been returned to the family at their request.

"The Council can be asked to step in to arrange and pay for funerals under the National Assistance Act when there is no known next of kin or no arrangements are being made by others for the deceased.

"As such, responsibility is relinquished to the Council and the appropriate arrangements are made in line with the legislation.

"In such cases any interested person is entitled to enquire about times and dates, and arrangements for ashes.

"We were contacted by a member of the public who wanted to be notified of the date of his funeral.

"We contacted the member of public on September 9 and left a voicemail message telling her the funeral was scheduled for September 15.

"She subsequently phoned on September 17 and we explained that the funeral had taken place.

"We are looking into the specifics of this case and will respond directly to the complainant."